The Athletic’s Phil Hay has been discussing who he believes will begin the 2019/20 season as Leeds United’s striker during a recent edition of his podcast.
The Whites are closing in on the signing of Rodrigo from Valencia in a deal believed to be worth £27m, although an official announcement has yet to be made by the Yorkshire-based club.
Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, the journalist was asked whether or not the imminent arrival of the Spanish international would mean Patrick Bamford, who made 45 appearances in the Championship last season would be benched. Here is how he responded:
“At 99% of clubs, I’d totally agree that if you’re spending €30m (£26.8m) on a striker then he is coming here to play and it’s going to be very difficult for anybody to compete with him but I think it is inevitable that Bamford will start the season.”
“It would probably be a big challenge for Bielsa to get him [Rodrigo] ready for Anfield and we’ve seen many times that he doesn’t bend on the idea that players have to be ready and schooled before he’ll stick them on the bench, let alone put them in the team.”
Would you start Bamford up front on the opening weekend?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Hay’s comments are supported by the fact the Whites took Jean-Kevin Augustin on loan from RB Leipzig in January and due to the Argentine coach being unhappy with his fitness levels, he was limited to just three appearances in the English second-tier last season.
That said, it would surely be equally somewhat bizarre to spend a fair amount of money on a player that would only be a substitute – even if only to begin with.
In our view, given the lack of time Rodrigo will have to settle in at Elland Road and Bielsa’s history, we would agree with Hay’s prediction that Bamford is more likely to lead the line for the Whites on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.